Fans hail singing success

24 October 2013 03:01

Organisers of the singing section at Manchester United's Champions League win over Real Sociedad hope to get clearance to continue the experiment for the game with Shakhtar Donetsk on December 10.

The experiment, aimed at generating greater noise within Old Trafford, was well received.

Fans congratulated themselves, both on their behaviour and adherence to ground regulations, in addition to the positive energy created by the 1,500 supporters, who maintained their repertoire of songs throughout the 1-0 win.

United coach Phil Neville and winger Ashley Young both tweeted their thanks for the support, whilst manager David Moyes also backed the venture.

"The singing section was very good," he said.

"They were heard and they were noisy. They did something similar at Celtic and it has been really good.

"It is important. If you are an old-fashioned supporter you want to sing and you want to join in. Sometimes you need people to start it."

Now organisers will speak with United about the potential for repeating the experiment which, at present, can only be done during cup games as the area used is set aside for visiting supporters at Premier League games.

The visit of Shakhtar for the final Champions League group game on December 10 seems an obvious choice given the Ukraine outfit are not expected to have a sizeable travelling support.

"We have to speak with the club to decide how we are going to carry this forward," said Andrew Kilduff, co-founder of Stretford End Flags.

"The Shakhtar game is an option, and there is also the potential for FA Cup matches later in the year.

"The idea is to have something in place permanently next season, although I am not sure we really want it to be referred to as a 'singing section' because ideally we would like all areas of the ground to sing.

"If we can increase the numbers to between 2,500 and 3,000 that would also make a bigger difference."